Chain shot



June 22, 1943. J. D. FORBES CHAIN SHOT Filed Oct. 6, 1939 4 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR /0 1; N fl FEBES kW,f4,%wMX w ATTORNEY June 22, 1943. 4 D, FQRBES 2,322,624

CHAIN SHOT Filed Oct. 6, 1939 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 I 10 'T a 3 6d 11 1% 6a 12 9 I 1 INVENTOR L/EHN D. FORBES i -lE- BY ATTORNEY June 22, 1943. J. D. FORBES 2,322,624

CHAIN SHOT Filed Oct. 6, 1939 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 l E H {I '5 s X I I i i 5 n ii; 2% 40 IIIIIII/I/l M: 36) 35 1 1 214 I I I W//// A E I: I I} I I H I: H 39 i I I n 1 l I II I I II I '1 I I I l |L,Z6 II A l L N I -55.

INVENTOR '21! :2 Jog/V 3 F I 4 I I 35 sz 36 ATTORNEY Patented June 22, 1943 barren STATES PATENT OFFICE CHAIN SHOT John D. Forbes, San Francisco, Calif.

Application October 6, 1939, Serial No. 298,259

10 Claims.

My invention relates to improvements in a chain shot, and it consists of the combinations, constructions and arrangements hereinafter described and claimed.

An object of my invention is to provide a chain shot which is an improvement over my pending application on an improved Chain shot, Serial No. 247,796, filed December 27, 1938. In the co-pending case, I show rods or chains pivotally connected together by rings or links, these rods or chains being foldable into compact bundles having a length equal to the rod or chain and a breadth equal to the combined rods or chains.

In the present form of the invention, the cross sectional shape of the rods are such as to permit the rods or bars to be arranged in a parallel and abutting relation to form a solid projectile, the ends of the rods being so interconnected as to permit the bars to be quickly movable into a flat plane and form a pattern covering a much wider area than that covered when the bars were compacted into a solid mass. It is possible to provide different types of patterns by linking the rods together in various ways, and for each dif- 1' ferent pattern, the cross sectional shape of the rods is changed so that the rods when placed in parallel and abutting relation will form a compact and nonperforated missile. The advantage of the device lies in the fact that it can be placed within a small shell and will expand to cover a large area when freed. The device lends itself admirably for use in anti-aircraft guns.

It is possible to so shape the rods that spaces will be left between adjacent rods and loose shot may fill the spaces. This shot will act as bracing means for bars or rods while compacted and will also make the projectile more effective because certain of the areas bordered by the bars when the device is fully opened will have shot therein. It is the purpose of the invention to place the folded projectile in a shell casing and if desired, the links interconnecting the ends of the rods may be protected from the end walls of the casing by spacers that engage with the ends of the bars and bear against the end walls of the casing.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following specification, and the novel features of the device will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings forming a part of this application, in which Figure l is a diagrammatic plan view of a missile formed from bars and links and shows the device fully expanded and in the formation of a spiral;

Figure 2 is a diagrammatic front elevation of a few of the bars and links shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a diagrammatic view similar to Figure 1, but shows alternate links raised above the plane of the other links and illustrating how the bars may be brought into a compact bundle;

Figure 4 is a diagrammatic front elevation of a few of the bars and links shown in Figure 3 and illustrates how the bars are brought into parallel relation;

Figure 5 is a detail end view of the bars shown in parallel and abutting relation and illustrating how they are interconnected by links;

Figure 6 shows a side elevation and also a section of a few of the bars and links;

Figure '7 is a view taken at right angles to Figure 6;

Figure 8 is a diagrammatic plan view similar to Figure 1, but showing a modified form of expanded pattern formed from bars and links;

Figure 9 is a diagrammatic front elevation of Figure 8;

Figure 10 shows alternate links raised above the plane of the other links for drawing the rods into parallel relation;

Figure 11 is a diagrammatic front elevation of Figure 10;

Figure 12 is an end detail view of the bars shown contacting with each other and interconnected by links or rings;

. Figure 13 is a side elevation and section of two of the rods or bars;

Figure 14 is a view taken at right angles to Figure 13;

Figure 15 is a side elevation of a modified form of link connection for the bars;

Figure 16 is a top plan view of Figure 15;

Figure 17 is a diagrammatic plan view of still another modified form of pattem;

Figure 18 is a diagrammatic front elevation of Figure 17;

Figure 19 is similar to Figure 17 and shows alternate links raised above the plane of the remaining links for drawing the bars int parallel relation;

Figure 20 is a diagrammatic front view of Figure 19;

Figure 21 is a detail end view of the bars shown in parallel and abutting relation;

Figure 22 i a side elevation of two of the bars interconnected by a ring;

Figure 23 is a plan view of the bars when swung into the same plane;

Figure 2a is a detail end view similar to Figure 21, but shows bars of different cross sectional shape and forming spaces between certain of the bars for receiving loose shot;

Figure 25 is a side elevation and section of two of the bars shown in Figure 24;

Figure 26 is a plan View of the bars opened up and lying in the same plane;

Figures 27 to 30 inclusive, show a modified form of connecting the bars together by wire cables rather than by links;

Figure 31 illustrates how the ends of the cables are protected from the end walls of the compartment in which the device is mounted;

Figure 32 is a top plan view and Figure 33 is a side elevation, partly in section, of still another modified form of bar protector placed between the end walls of the casing and the bars; and

Figure 34 is a sectional view through a cartridge showing the device mounted therein.

In carrying out my invention, I will first describe the form of the projectile shown in Figures 1 to 7 inclusive. The device consists of a plurality of bars or rods i hexagonal in cross section as shown in Figure 6 and carrying headed pins 2 at both ends. Ring-shaped members 3 are rotatably mounted on the pins 2 and ring-shaped members on adjacent rods or bars are interconnected by links 4. The bars may be arranged in abutting relation as shown in Figure 5 and a compact projectile will thus be formed. I have shown a few of the links t in Figure 5 connected to the ringshaped members 3 and have indicated by broken lines 5 how all of the bars i may thus be connected to form a spiral.

The arrangement is such that the bars may be moved from a spread out pattern in which all of the bars lie in one plane, into one in which the bars will all lie parallel with each other and will abut adjacent bars. In Figure 1 I show the bars l diagrammatically in open formation. The bars are laid end to end and ar arranged in a spiral form. In order to change the bars from the spiral form shown in Figure 1, into the compact arrangement shown in Figure 5, I simultaneously lift all of the alternate links while allowing the remaining links to move toward each other as the bars move into a parallel position. In Figure 1 every other link is given the letter A and the remaining links are given the letter B. Links A for example, can be raised above the plane of the links B and this will contract the spiral and make it smaller as clearly shown in Figures 3 and 4. The bars I will be moved into an inclined relation with respect to each other as the links A are raised. This upward raising of the links A and the moving of these links toward each other will bring all of the hexagonal bars into a parallel and abutting relation as shown in Figure 5. The rings can swivel to permit the bars at the corners of the compacted device to fit into place. Figure 5 shows the two lower corner bars I with the ring 3 at one end angularly disposed to the ring at the other end.

When the device is placed in a shell and is fired from a gun, the resistance offered by the air against the device when freed from the shell, will cause it to spread out into the pattern shown in Figure 1. It is obvious that the effectiveness of the device is increased greatly because it is spread out over such a wide area as compared to the small area it covers when compacted.

In Figures 8 to 14 inclusive, I show a modified form of chain shot. In this form the bars 6 are square in cross section rather than hexagonal.

In Figure 12, the bars are placed in parallel and abutting relation to form a compact non-perforated projectile. Figures 13 and 14 illustrate how the ends of the bars 5 are tapered at "l and are provided with openings 8 for receiving connecting links 9. The links 9 are in the shape of rings and they permit the bars 6 to swing out into a fiat plane as shown in Figures 8 and 14. The pattern formed by the bars when fully expanded consists of a plurality of interconnected squares rather than the spiral shown in Figure 1. Certain of the bars are only connected at one end to adjacent bars and these bars are indicated by the reference numeral 6. There are four bars 6 disposed On the four sides of the projectile when folded and these are shown in Figure 12. For the sake of clarity, I have only indicated the links 9 connected to one-half of the number of bars 6 shown in Figure 12. In actual practice all of the bars will be interconnected as shown in Figures 8 and 12 by links 9.

To fold the extended bars shown in Figure 8 into the compact form shown in Figure 12, I raise alternate links designated at A above the plane of the remaining links B. As the links A are raised, the bars 6 and 6' will be moved into an inclined position as shown by Figures 10 and 11 and as this movement is continued, the bars will eventually be arranged in parallel and abutting relation with each other to form a compact projectile.

In Figures 15 and 16 I show a slightly modified form of connector for the bars Ba which are similar to the bars 6. The bars 6a are square in cross section and are provided with loops ID at their ends instead of the bar ends being tapered. A connecting member ll carries extensions 12 that are passed through the loops IE! and bent back upon themselves to form rings. The ends 12a of the extensions are held in place by a block l3 which is riveted to the member II. A spacer I4 is positioned between the member I l and the ends of the bars 6a. This means of connection for the bars 6a takes the place of the links 9. In all other respects the bars 6a can be arranged in the manner shown for the bars 6 in Figure 12 and therefore further description need not be given. The purpose of the blocks 13 and the spacers I4 is to protect the loops [0 and members II when the device is mounted in a shell compartment. The ends of the shell compartment will bear directly against the blocks l3 and the force of the exploding shell will be carried from end to end of the compartment by the blocks 13, spacers l4 and bars 6a, thus freeing the loops ill and [2 from compressive strain that might so deform the loops as to prevent the de vice from expanding when freed.

Figures 17 to 23 inclusive, show still another modified form of bar and pattern formed by the bars. In Figure 22 I show two types of bars I5 and It, the bar 15 having a cross section in the shape of a polygon and the bars IS in the shape of a rectangle. These two types of bars are so arranged and connected to each other as to form a compact, nonperforated projectile shown in Figure 21 when the bars are brought into a parallel and abutting relation. Links I! connect the ends of the bars together in the manner shown in Figures 21 and 22. The bars are adapted to be swung into a flat plane as shown in Figures l7 and 23. A large hexagonal pattern with diamond-shaped areas is formed by the bars and the links.

When folding the larg pattern shown in Figure 1'7 into the compact unit shown in Figure 21 the links I! indicated by the small circles A in Figure 17 are raised above the plane of the other links B, thus causing the bars l5 and I6 to move into an inclined position as shown in Figures 19 and 20. The raising of the links A is continued until the bars are brought into parallel and abuttingrelation with respect to each other as shown in Figure 21. The result is a compact projectile without any openings or perforations therein. The rings H are shown diagrammatically in Figure 21 and the ends of the bars l5 and I6 are tapered at ill, see Figure 23, and this taper is diagrammatically shown by the full and dotted lines H3, in Figure 21. The full lines l8 represent the ends of the bars which can beseen and the dotted lines represent the opposite ends of the bars. For the sake of clarity, only one-half of the projectile shown in Figure 21 is provided with links I! although in actual practice all of the bars I5 and IE will be so connected.

In Figures 24, 25, and 26, I show the bars l9 diamond-shaped in cross section and when these bars are arranged in parallel relation, spaces will be formed between certain of the groups of bars. I have filled these spaces with loose shot 2| and this shot acts as a filler for the device and also braces the bars l9. Figures and 26 illustrate how the diamond-shaped bars l9 are interconnected by links 22 while Figure 26 further shows how the bars I9 may be spread out into a flat plane. The tapered ends 23 of the bars are clearly shown in Figure 26 and these are diagrammatically shown by the lines 23 in Figure 24.

This particular form of device will spread out into the hexagonal pattern shown in Figure 17 with diamond shaped areas and the loose shot will scatter and add to the effectiveness of the device as a missile. In Figure 2.4, I show only one-half of the device provided with links 22 for connecting the bars l9 together and I have purposely omitted showing the links in the other half so as to more clearly show the spaces 20 for receiving the loose shot 2|.

It is possible to connect the bars together by wire cables rather than by links. In Figures 27 to 31 inclusive, I show such an arrangement. The bars 24 are cast or forged onto wire cables 25 and are spaced from each other the proper distance. The cables are passed through collars 26 in a predetermined manner as shown by the various forms in Figures 27, 28 and 29 for forming the diiferent connections in the pattern shown in Figure 8 or the pattern shown in Figure 17. The ends of the cables 25 are dead ended by using sleeves 2l rigidly clamped thereto. The collars 26 have two or more openings depending upon the number of cables secured together. In Figures 29 and 30 I show the collar 26 with three openings.

In Figure 31 the bars 24 are placed side by side in compact arrangement and are interconnected by the cables 25. Studded washer plates 28 are placed between the ends of the bars 2d and the ends 29 of the compartment housing the device.

The studded washer plates are to protect the ex- I between the loops 30. The body 34 is composed of two parts secured together by a rivet 35.

When the diamond-shaped members Ilia are assembled, the body members 34 will extend between the ends of the bars l9a and the end walls 36 of the compartment in which the device is mounted. It will be seen that the bars I91]. and link 3| are so made that the thrust from one end wall 36 to the other end wall is transmitted through the body 34 and'the bars 19a without deforming the loops 30 or the ring 3|. This type of protection for the ends of the bars as well as the protecting structure 23 shown in Figure 31 can be used for the Various types of bars and link when mounted in cartridges or shells.

In Figure 34 I show the compacted missile at X and the missile may comprise any one of the Various forms already disclosed. The missile X is mounted in th compartment 37 of a shell 38. A compartment 39 is filled with gun powder and is separated from the compartment 37 by a partition 45!. This type of shell is designed to free th device X at the moment of firing. In my copending application Serial No. 308,662, filed De cember 11, '1939, I show other types of shells for freeing the missiles after the shell has been shot from the gun or cannon.

While I have shown only the preferred forms of my invention, it should be understood that various changes or modifications may be made within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Iclaim: I

1.An expandable missile consisting of a plurality of elongated members pivoted together at their ends in groups to form diamond-shaped polygons covering a large two-dimensional and hexagonal area when the missile is fully expanded, said members having cross sectional areas of a predetermined shape to permit the members to be swung into parallel and abutting relation and form a compact bundle solid throughout.

2. An expandable missile comprising a flexible member arranged in a pattern for screening a two dimensional area whenfully expanded, elongated rigid members carried by the flexible member at spaced intervals, said flexible member permitting the rigid members to be arranged in parallel and abutting relation to form a compact bundle with a solid cross section.

3. An expandable missile comprising a flexible member arranged in a pattern, rigid members carried by the flexible member at spaced intervals, said flexible member permitting the rigid members to be arranged in parallel and abutting relation to form a compact bundle with a solid cross section, the interconnecting portions of the flexible member projecting beyond the ends of the compact bundle, a compartment for receiving the compact missile, and spacing members placed between the ends of the rigid members and the end walls of the compartment for holding the bundle in proper position and for relieving any binding action on the flexible member portions that project beyond the ends of the compact bundle.

4. An expandable missile comprising a plurality of members having eyelets at their ends, rings passed through the eyelets for connecting the members together, a compartment for the missile, and spacing members connected to the rings and bearing against the ends of the members and the adjacent walls of the compartment for spacing the eyelets from the Walls and for trans mitting any force from one compartment wall to the other through the spacing members rather than through the eyelets or rings.

5. A missile having a plurality of elongated weights, links pivotally connecting the ends of diiierent groups of weights together, the links being arranged for movement of the weights into a single plane and the groups of weights being so connected as to cover a large two-dimensional area with a screen-like pattern when fully expanded, the connections of the links with the weights being made for movement of the weights into parallel and abutting relation, the cross sections of the weights being such as to permit the weights to fit against each other for forming a solid mass when the weights are nested.

6. A missile having a plurality of elongated weights of the same length, links pivotally connecting the ends of different groups of weights together, the links being arranged for movement of the weights into a single plane and the groups of Weights being so connected as to cover a large two-dimensional area with a screen-like pattern, the link-weight connections being made for movement of the weight into parallel and abutting relation, the cross sections of the Weights being such as to permit the weights to fit against each other for forming a solid mass when the weights are nested, the mass having a length equal to one of the weights.

'7. A missile having a plurality of elongated weights, links pivotally connecting the ends of difierent weights together, the links being arranged for movement of the weights from open position into nested position where the weights position constituting a screen that covers a large two-dimensional area.

8. A missile having a plurality of elongated weights, links 'pivotally connecting the ends of different weights together, the links being arranged ior movement of the weights from open position into nested position where the weights will abut each other substantially throughout their lengths, the cross sections of the weights being such as to permit the weights to fit against each other for forming a solid mass when the weights are nested, and spacers arranged at .the ends .of the weight when the latter are nested for protecting the links, said spacers projecting beyond the links for this purpose.

9. An expandable missile consisting of a plurality of elongated weights, flexible means connecting the ends of different groups of weights together, the flexible means being arranged for movement of the weights into a single plane when the missile is expanded, and the groups of weights being so connected as to cover a large two-dimensional hexagonal area with diamondshaped screen-like openings, the cross sections of the weights being such as to permit the weights to be nested one against the other to form a solid mass.

10. An expandable missile consisting of a plurality of elongated weights, flexible means connecting the ends of diiierent groups of weights together for forming a screen-like pattern in which the weights themselves form the bars for the screen mesh, the screen pattern covering a large two-dimensional area when the missile is expanded, said weights having cross sectional areas of a predetermined shape for permitting the weights to be swung into parallel and abutting relation to form a compact bundl solid throughout.

JOHN D. FORBES. 

